Nicholas Rojes
Geo 351
Professor Garver
March 3, 2010
Field Trip

California is a state of enormous diversity. From the coast to the mountains and the forests to the deserts, California is full of a wide array of plant life. California is the third largest state in the United States and thus has a major variation in climate resulting in the many plants found. Not only are there many plants found here, but many of those plants cannot be found anywhere else. There are also many nonnative plants that have become a part of the scenery in California. The best way to understand the state’s vegetation is to first understand the floristic provinces.
In North America there are 12 floristic provinces with four of those found in California (Map #1). California itself has five major biomes, some of which can be found at RSABG. Four of them are in the California floristic province and the fifth is in both the Great Basin and the Sonoran floristic province. Each of which contains many different types of communities in them. The California floristic province has the coniferous forest biome, the oak woodland biome, the grassland and marshland biome, and the chaparral and coastal sage scrub biome. The Great Basin and Sonoran floristic province has the desert scrublands and woodlands biome. All of the five biomes (Map #2) in California have different climates. The Coniferous forest is highland with a cool or warm Mediterranean, while the Oak woodlands is semi-arid, but also has a cool or warm Mediterranean. The Chaparral and coastal sage biome is very similar to the Grasslands and marshland biome in that they both semi-arid, but the chaparral also has a warm Mediterranean. The Desert scrublands and woodlands depending on which province it is found in are either semi-arid or arid. The fan palm oasis (Picture #2) is found within the desert woodlands portion of the desert scrublands and woodlands biome. They are found in areas where springs often bring water to the surface. They are most often seen in areas of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts along fault line springs. Hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters are characteristic of the climate where the plants originate. Redwood trees are located in the California floristic province. It covers the cismontane region of California as well as part of southwestern Oregon. The climate there is Mediterranean dry hot summers and wet, cool winters. The tree at RSABG was around 1300 years old. During the time that this tree was standing the American Civil War was taking place because of the spread of slavery. The vernal pools (Picture #4) are a part of the grasslands and marshes biome. Most of the pools are found in the central valley but also in the inland valleys of the inner Coast Ranges, and along coastal terraces of Southern California. They are temporary pools of water that are usually without fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species. Most pools are dry for at least part of the year and fill with the winter rains or snow melt. Some pools may remain at least partially filled with water over the course of a year or more, but all vernal pools dry up periodically. They are called vernal pools because they are often at their deepest in the spring. Despite being dry at times, once filled they are full of life. The most obvious inhabitants are various species of frogs and toads. Manzanitas (Picture #5) are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome. They are characterized by smooth, orange or red bark and stiff, twisting branches. There are 106 species of Manzanita, 95 of which are found in California. Manzanitas bloom in the winter to early spring and carry berries in spring and summer. The berries and flowers of most species are edible. Most chaparral plants grow mainly in the spring. They take advantage of the winter rains penetrating to their roots and the long spring days. To cope for the dry soil in the summer plants these plants usually cope by becoming dormant. During this time they are very susceptible to fire. The evergreen nature of this plant allows it to keep its leaves and not use and energy to create new leaves. Because of this they can be photosynthesizing within minutes of a summer rain. These plants have adapted to use very little water and not lose any while at the same time trapping all the water it can. The types of oak found at the RSABG were the California Black Oak, the Blue Oak, and the Canyon Oak (Picture #6). These are all found in the oak woodlands biome. These trees are found all throughout of California. From the foothills and valleys of cismontane California, around the central valley and mixed throughout the Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges. This biome is 10 percent of the vegetated landscape and is almost only in California. The Blue Oak is a dominant species and endemic. The climate that these oak are found range from semiarid to both warm summer and cool summer Mediterranean. Generally the climates are cooler and moister then the grassland and chaparral biomes below but warmer then the coniferous forests above. Some people think that because of how common the oak woodlands are they should be made the states vegetation. A plant community (Picture #7) is defined by the physical appearance of the dominant species, the occurrence of a few dominant species, and common physical and environmental characteristics. The first community is the foothill woodland (Picture #8). It is found throughout the California chaparral. The dominant trees are oaks, interspersed with other broadleaf and coniferous trees, with an understory of grasses, herbs, geophytes, and California native plants. The Oak woodlands of Southern California and coastal Northern California are dominated by Valley Oak, California Black Oak, and Canyon live oak. The foothill oak woodlands around the Central Valley are dominated by Blue Oak and Digger Pine.
The next community is the Closed-cone pine forest of coastal California (Picture #9) and several offshore islands. It consists of stands of Bishop Pines, which rely on fire or strong heat to open their cones and release the seeds. Some forests can occur inland on dry, rocky soil as well. The climate ranges from highland to warm and cool summer Mediterranean. Enough precipitation is necessary to keep these large trees alive.
The next is the creosote bush scrub (Picture 10) which is a part of the Sonoran floristic province in the desert scrublands and woodlands biome. It is very similar to sagebrush and is all over the western United States. It covers a lot of the southwest United States and northern Mexico. In the Mojave it can be found growing by itself or mixed with other shrub species. In the Colorado Desert, where it is warmer, the stands are much more diverse and can include ocotillo, century plant, barrel cactus, and jumping cholla. Both regions display many kinds of annuals that flower after it rains in the winter.
Southern Chaparral (Picture #11) is a shrub land or heathland plant community found primarily in California and in the northern part of Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate and wildfire. A typical chaparral plant community consists of densely-growing evergreen scrub oaks and other drought-resistant shrubs. It often grows very densely, so much that it sometimes seems impenetrable. This, and its generally arid condition, makes it very prone to wildfires. Although many chaparral plant species require some fire for its seeds to spread, chaparral plants are not very well suited for fire.
Northern coastal scrub (Picture #12) is a scrubland plant community of California and Oregon. It is located along the Pacific Coast from Central California to southern Oregon. It frequently combines with coastal prairie. The predominant plants are low evergreen shrubs and herbs. Characteristic shrubs include Coyote Brush, California Yerba Santa, Coast silk-tassel, Salal, and Yellow Bush Lupine.
The RSABG (Picture #1) , which was founded in 1927, is found in the city of Claremont by the foothill of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is 86 acres full of California native plants. The garden originated when Susanna Bixby Bryant established a native garden on her ranch in Orange County. The garden relocated to Claremont in 1951. The garden now contains some 70,000 native Californian plants, representing 2,000 native species, hybrids and cultivars.

Bibliography
Botanical Garden Logistics. (2006). Retrieved from Berkeley.edu: http://ib.berkeley.edu/courses/bio1b/labschedfall07/labexercises/PlantsEnvironments3_4_3.pdf
County, San Joaquin. (n.d.). Vernal Pool. Retrieved from CWIS: http://ceres.ca.gov/wetlands/whats_new/vernal_sjq.html
Creosote Bush Scrub. (2010). Retrieved from Mojavedesert.net: http://mojavedesert.net/desert-habitats/creosote-bush-scrub.html
Fimrite, P. (2009, December 26). Manzanita bush's discovery excites scientists. Retrieved from SFGate: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/26/BA0L1B57HP.DTL
Garver, S. A., Wu, L., & Hyslop, R. S. (2009). California Eclectic. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.